The Intersection of Innovation and Education
Miami has many names, the Sun and Fun Capital of the World, The Magic City, or more affectionately, The 305; the home of South Beach, SoBe, and Rick Ross’s Port of Miami.
Yet in the mist of all this fun and magic there’s something happening, something emerging, and it’s big, no it’s huge, but seemingly imperceptible.
In the past few years Miami has positioned itself to be an emerging tech and startup hub. From the immortal words of Richard Florida himself, a robust advocate for Miami;
“Why is this happening? Greater Miami has all the urban attributes that are attractive to the creative class, tech investors, and techies themselves: old industrial buildings, dense, walkable neighborhoods, quality of life amenities like beaches, culture, food, music, and especially diversity.  Miami has this in spades especially in and around Wywood, Midtown and the Design Districts where art galleries and the big art collection spaces are. Already, we are seeing a bunch of startups in and around there and the Knight Foundation has made signature investments in incubator/ accelerator spaces like The LAB Miami and Endeavor Global, the global entrepreneurial assistance organization that has opened its first US branch in Miami.”
Yet, there is another movement happening right alongside this budding entrepreneurial expansion. As articulated by Kiesha Moodie, Managing Director of Alumni Affairs for Teach for America;
“Over 250 Teach for America teachers work in Miami-Dade’s highest-need schools, and almost 300 alumni work across Miami-Dade to ensure that all children have access to an excellent education. Our corps members and alumni are passionate about finding innovative ways to give every child access to great education. Teach for America endeavors to draw emerging leaders into education to provide excellent educational opportunities for our kids, and to understand the challenges that children growing up in poverty face.”
 With these two massive movements of innovation in play the question becomes, what happens at the intersection of innovation and education.
 Then something special happened. Erected as the brainchild of both Kiesha Moodie and Wifredo Frenandez and partnerships with The Knight Foundation, The LAB Miami, and Teach for America, the TFA Startup Summer Internship initiative looked to blend these two diverse disciplines.
In it’s first year, TFA’s Startup Summer Internship placed 11 bright, ambitious primary and secondary teachers with 7 startup companies, and over a six week period teachers sought to excavate the tools needed to prepare their students for real-world problems.
The results? A year later, four of those eleven interns embarked on their own journeys of social, non-profit, and for-profit entrepreneurships. Those who decided to stay in the classroom gained a broader view of what it takes to inspire success in students and developed a large network of partners willing to help propel students forward.
Our startup partners (those in the throes of recently launching a successful small business) received a cohort of thought leaders and unique perspectives laser-focused on helping them take another step in the direction of success.
This year, the TFA Startup Summer’s possibilities seem limitless; growing from 11 interns to 20 and from 7 startup companies to 12. Interns are immersed in everything from developing digital learning curriculums to sifting through hours of Yelp reviews, blog posts, and even talking to chefs just to make sure users have the perfect dining experience.
If last year is any indication, our community is in for a nice surprise as new ventures are created, existing ones sustained, and Miami retains it’s number one resource – her talent.
Check out our Startup Summer Bloggers and join in on this movement as we seek to create the change we wish to see in this world.
